Jose Figueroa is a married father of 3, over 15 year resident of Langley BC, well respected member of his community. In May, 2010, the IRB ruled he was inadmissible to Canada and a ‘national security threat’ for his peaceful association, as a student in college over twenty years ago, with the FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front) now the democratically elected government in El Salvador. This makes no sense and many are joining their voices to protest see www.wearejose.com

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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Canada Day of Action in support of Jose Figueroa and his family and all refugees impacted by Canada's overly broad terrorism law

Canada wide We Are Jose events January 16, 2013

A
campaign to reverse the deportation against 15 year, Langley, BC
resident, José Figueroa and his family and in support of ALL refugees
impacted by Canada's problematic terrorism laws.

www.wearejose.com

Events in Vancouver, Langley, BC; Toronto, and Ottawa, and various cities. (See event details and locations below )https://www.facebook.com/events/150354768447191/Vancouver event 2pm CIC offices. 300 West Georgia Street, Library square Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories. Meet at Georgia and Hamilton.
Langley, BC event: 3pm. Meet outside of
Jose's Conservative MP Mark Warawa's office #104 4769 222nd Street,
Langley Supporters will join with Jose and his family to deliver
letters and petitions to the MP and then have a vigil outside of the
office.

About the campaign: Today, We Are Jose. José Figueroa could be any one of us. He has lived
happily in his Langley, BC, community, just outside Vancouver, for over
15 years with his wife, Ivannia, and three Canadian children. As they
built new lives after fleeing danger in El Salvador, they worked hard
and became leading members of their local Lutheran church. Again, their
story is ours.

Then, out of the blue, José and his wife were told they were no longer welcome in Canada and were going to be deported.

The reason? As a university student more than 20 years ago, José was a
member of a peaceful student group associated with the Farabundo Martí
Front for National Liberation, or FMLN, the broad coalition of
opposition forces fighting the ruthless Salvadorean government of the
time.

Indeed, supporting the FMLN was the conscious and
courageous choice of countless Salvadoreans trying to free themselves
from the tyranny of a Salvadorean state that targeted with impunity
priests, nuns, farmers, teachers, workers, professors, students, indeed,
anyone opposed to its systematic human rights violations.

And
the international community recognized Salvadoreans’ right to defend
themselves against oppression. The FMLN was widely acknowledged as a
legitima and representative opposition organization and as a vital
element to bringing democracy to El Salvador.

After signing
UN-sponsored peace accords with the Salvadorean government 21 years ago
on the historic day of Jan 16, 1992 (peace accords that Canada
explicitly supported), the FMLN went on to become a leading political
party and won the presidency in 2009. The Canadian government
recognized that election as free and fair and even sent a
representative, then Minister of State of Foreign Affairs for the
Americas and now Minister of the Environment, Peter Kent, to President
Mauricio Funes’ inauguration.

Still, Canadian border and
immigration authorities consider José a threat to Canadian security
because of his links to the current democratically elected and
internationally recognized governing party of El Salvador, the FMLN. It
simply doesn’t make sense. And we simply want our government to
realize as much. Jose's case is not isolated and many more refugees and
immigrants are at risk of being deported due to this problematic
immigration policy.

José, Ivannia, and their three Canadian
children are no threats to Canada. On the contrary, they are exactly
the kind of people who have built this great country. This deportation
order has devastated their lives.

Their fate lies in the hands
of Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews and the Minister of Immigration
Jason Kenney. Supporters of the WE ARE JOSE campaign demand that
Minister Toews/Jason Kenney immediately intervene in Mr. Figueroa's case
to reverse the deportation order against him and his family. We
further demand that he ensure that the FMLN and its many supporters are
no longer mischaracterized as threats by Canadian authorities.

By this, the Canadian officials will honour the Salvadorean Peace
Agreement signed 21 years ago, on January 16, 1992, and do what’s right.

Facebook event link : https://www.facebook.com/events/150354768447191/Some ways to help:1.Attend one of the events listed above2. Write a letter of support to the Minister of Immigration, Jason Kenney, Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews, and Jose's Member of Parliment Mark Warawa, and also cc your Member of Parliment.3. Organize a vigil or rally in support4. Contact us to get added to the supporter list wearejose@gmail.com and if you'd like to help in any other ways.5. Sign the petition (for copies email us) For more info:www.wearejose.com